The Imperfect Superhero
This is a story based on the Teen Titans comics. The Imperfect Superhero The city was filled with screams of terror. Thousands of citizens fled as the battle grew larger and larger. Gunshots and blasts of energy flew about, destroying everything they touched. For hours, the battle had raged on, tearing up everything it made contact with. Then, the city stopped and fell silent. All of the citizens turned to stare at the fallen heroes. All of the Titans lay on the floor, battered and bruised. As Robin attempted to stand once again, a sniper rifle’s barrel tip rested itself on the centre of his forehead. He looked up in disgust, rage and fear at the black and orange assassin who stood before him. The assassin’s one red eye fixated upon Robin, locking on to his target. Robin cringed, awaiting the mocking speech that his assailant had prepared for him, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg. Finally, Slade spoke. “Well Robin, it appears you have finally fallen. None of your friends can save you now. Not the Titans nor Batman. Finally, it’s time for you to die…” Robin shut his eyes tight as he heard Slade reload his weapon with one last bullet. The other Titans watched in horror as Slade prepared to pull the trigger, and kill off the Boy Wonder. “Oh and by the way… I prefer to be called Deathstroke. Farewell, Rob- Ah!” Suddenly, Deathstroke was hit by an unseen force. He flew back with the force, slamming into a nearby building. Bricks and concrete shattered and flew in every direction. He groaned, and fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach. He looked up, his vision blurring slightly. He then saw the figure. He recognised him instantly. The man’s long black hair blew to the side in the wind. A large pair of black chains were wrapped around his chest, practically digging into his flesh. His black jeans were torn in some areas, and his steel boots were dusty from the shattered concrete. His entire body was covered in scars from previous battles. But how? Deathstroke had seen it happen. How was he still here? “Hello Deathstroke. Miss me?” Deathstroke stammered in shock and awe. “B-but how!? I saw you die! You did it yourself! How is it you’re still here Crow!?” Crow said nothing, and began to approach his enemy, ready to consume his prey. The Titans rose to their feet, ready to stand with him. Crow looked back at his team-mates. He then looked at Raven. And then his mind went blank… “So, when are you gonna leave for Earth?” “Soon I hope. I need to escape fast! If Trigon finds me, Azarath is doomed...” Crow could remember this conversation. He didn’t want to remember it. The walk. Holding each other’s hand. “Well, it’s a shame you have to leave. I will miss you…” “Oh Crow, there’s no need to feel sad. I will find you!” “And I will find you...” Crow screamed out into the darkness. “No… No… No!” Crow awoke suddenly, just in time to dodge the fist about to make contact with his jaw. He jolted to the side and retaliated against Deathstroke, landing a hard kick in his chest. Deathstroke cried out in fury and opened fire on Crow. He continued to roar at Crow, guns blazing. Eventually, his guns ran out of ammunition, allowing Crow to go for the kill. But just as he was about to strike, Deathstroke said something that made him stop. “You really need to stop, you hear me!? Stop! Stop! Stop and give in!” Crow stood dead still once again, his eyes wide. He muttered the words over and over again. “Stop...Stop... Stop…” Then, once again, his mind went blank… “Stop! You don’t need to do this!” Crow could remember the cars beneath him, speeding along in a blur of different colours. Multiple lights flashed into his eyes. People behind him begged him to step away. He didn’t want to remember, but he couldn’t stop it. “You don’t need to give in! It will get better! Just don’t jump!” Crow struggled to escape this trance, but it was no use. He had already jumped off of the bridge, and was already plummeting to his certain doom. But if only he hadn’t lived. Why did he have to awake to her voice? “Crow… Crow, it’s me, Raven… Please wake up!” Crow yelled out as loud as his lungs would allow him to. “Not again… Please… No more!” Crow awoke once more. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by bullet holes and broken concrete. He leapt up and studied his surroundings. He then saw his enemy, firing at the rest of the Titans as they attempted to evacuate the citizens. He immediately sprinted towards Deathstroke, raising his fist. Before Deathstroke could turn around, Crow struck him in the jaw. With a violent crack from Deathstroke’s head, he flew back and landed flat on his back. But before he could stand up, Crow jumped up and stamped down hard on Deathstroke’s chest. He then screamed out: “You’ve killed so many people, just for money! All those damn contracts, they really made you their slave, didn’t they!? When the Hell will you give up!? When, huh!? When!?” Deathstroke attempted to pull out his sword, but Crow grabbed the sword’s hilt and flung the blade at a nearby wall. Deathstroke wheezed in pain. Then, he said something. “You know, there may be a reason why Raven left you…” Crow snapped. He pulled up Deathstroke by the neck and flung him into the same wall that his sword had collided with. Deathstroke ricocheted off the wall, only to be struck by a black ball of energy. He flew through the wall, smashing through each one of the buildings interior structures. Just as he reached the final wall, Crow flew at him and hit him hard. The entire building was just about ready to collapse when Deathstroke and Crow flew out of the building. Chunks of concrete and gravel flew everywhere. As Deathstroke hit the ground, Crow paused. And everything went blank… “Hey Robin, pass me the remote. Me and Raven wanna watch the TV.” Crow’s eyes filled up with tears. He could remember being in that dark room, looking at the floor whilst listening to the voices outside. He had been crying for some time. “Raven, you know I love you, right?” “Of course Garfield... And I love you...” Crow then felt the crack in his neck as time slowed down for him, as he kicked the chair and ended his life. He then bellowed out into the shadows through weakened lungs: “Please… Just stop… I don’t want this… Please don’t leave me... Raven!” Crow eyes opened wide, just to feel the searing pain of being impaled by Deathstroke’s sword. He then cried out in excruciating pain as thousands of gun bullets riddled through his body. Eventually, Crow dropped to the ground and nearly fell unconscious. As he opened his eyes, he could make out Deathstroke’s body. The assassin stood over the broken Azarathian, taking pity on him. “Aw, poor thing. What’s wrong? Scared to face the facts?” Crow was then picked up by Deathstroke. He growled as Deathstroke glared at his victim, grinning beneath his black and orange mask. “Face it Crow. You have no life. You are nothing without Raven. There’s no point going on anymore... Out of all your team's stories; Robin's lack of parents, Cyborg's rebirth, Beast Boy's experiment, Raven's abuse of upbringing and Starifire's near death, yours I really couldn't give two damns about...” Crow couldn’t hear him. Deep in the broken realms of his minds, all he could hear was laughing. Everyone was laughing at him. Not with him, but at him. He couldn’t stop them, no matter what he tried. His rage grew larger with every chuckle, giggle and snicker. Finally, it all stopped. Then, Crow finally went berzerk. Before Deathstroke could react, he was hit in the face, cracking his skull. He staggered back and dropped Crow, making a huge mistake. Crow then rammed his head into Deathstroke’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. He then finished him off with a very hard uppercut, breaking his jaw. Deathstroke lay on the floor before Crow, twitching and groaning in agony. Crow then stepped back, and tore off his chains. The black metal links fell onto the ground, smashing into thousands of microscopic pieces. For a few moments, there was silence between the two of them. Then Crow screamed, and he became an entirely new creature. Deathstroke couldn’t even describe what stood before. A tall black demon stood before him, with it’s sharp teeth gritted into a menacing frown. As he looked into it’s eyes, Deathstroke saw Hell. The creature continued to roar, whilst blood red energy made it’s way from the creature’s head to it’s arms. Then, in Crow’s voice, it screamed: “Azarath… Doomera… Blasterio!” The entire city was engulfed in a red light. The scream of Deathstroke echoed throughout the city. The entire city quaked, spreading fear in every direction. Then, it all stopped. Nothing had been damaged. Nobody was dead. Yet… Crow stood before the dying assassin, taking pity on him. Once a ruthless demonic killer, Crow had finally gone back to being a hero. He knelt down and tore off Deathstroke’s mask, smashing it on the floor, sending pieces of black and orange metal flying everywhere. He stared at Deathstroke’s face, shaking his head in disappointment. Crow then grabbed the pistol from Deathstroke’s belt and studied it carefully. He thought to himself: “Yeah, this oughta work…” Quick as a flash, Crow turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. The Titans entered the scene, and rushed towards him as they saw him pull the trigger. Raven ran to his side and shook him hard, trying to bring him back to life. She screamed and weeped in horror and pain, attempting to awaken him. “Please Crow! No, not again! You need to live! Please, don’t go! Please… Just don’t go…” The next day, the city was well underway with the reconstruction. Buildings were practically coated in scaffolding, and smashed windows were being replaced with bright gleaming new ones. The shattered grounds were being covered in new cement and stone, creating new powerful paths. Atop of one of the buildings was a man, sitting on the edge of it, weeping pitifully into his hands. Crow continued to cry, feeling more and more pained by the minute. All of the pain he had felt before felt like nothing compared to this. He cried harder, feeling the cold bitter tears roll down his cheeks. He didn’t want to live. Ever since Raven had left him, he had felt so horrific. But no matter what he tried, Crow couldn’t feel any better, nor die. He whispered through shaky breaths: “Why...Just why....Why can’t I ever die? Just let me die…” He could remember the times that he and Raven had together, the times of depression he had and all of the nights when he had cried himself to sleep. Crow stopped weeping and looked down at the street. He contemplated the idea, and then fell off the building, and began plummeting to his third death. The next day, Crow awoke once again, on the verge of tears. He thought to himself: “A person who can may only live once is a perfect human being… I’m Azarathian… I can never die… What does that make me? An imperfect being…”